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Introduction:
When you talk about an Akira Kurosawa film there is
very little to say because his films speak way more than
what any reviewer can write. Any filmmaker or film enthusiast
can tell you that Kurosawa is one of the greatest directors
to have ever made films. Not only is he able to tell grand
and epic stories but he is able to keep his characters intimate
with the audience. He is probably the single most influential
director to have ever lived. Now the good folks over at
Criterion have blessed us with remastered editions of Yojimbo
and Sanjuro, two classic samurai masterpieces by the great
director. Criterion wowed us last year with their remastered
release of Seven Samurai, which was my favorite DVD of the
year. This release, while not as extensive as the Seven
Samurai three disc set, is still something to jump over.
Since Sergio Leone is my favorite director you can assume
that Akira Kurosawa is close behind in my taste in film,
especially these two films. The two films can be purchased
separately, but I highly recommend buying this box set as
it will not only save you money but save you shame when
you tell people that you own one but not the other. * *
*
Yojimbo:
The thing that surprises me the most about Yojimbo was
that it was a film that was inspired by American westerns
yet was even a bigger inspiration for the genre after it
was made. The story is about a masterless samurai who wanders
into an old town looking for food and shelter, maybe a job
if he can find one. He notices that the entire town is deserted
and the first thing he sees is a small dog happily trotting
down the dirt street with a severed human hand in its mouth.
That image right there sets the entire tone for this fun
adventure film with a slight comedic side to it. The masterless
samurai who is known as Sanjuro then realizes that the town
is in the middle of a gang war with two feuding sides. He
takes refuge with an old shopkeeper and decides to use this
feud to his advantage. He plays both sides and manipulates
each of the gangs in hopes of ridding the town of both groups
and making a little profit during the process. * * *
Even though the film was made in 1961 it's still as
accessible today as any other film would be. Kurosawa was
ahead of his time when it came to pacing films and structuring
them. His characters were also so boldly developed that
they became unforgettable. His visual style is probably
the most unique of any director. The reason why Sergio Leone
is my favorite director is because of his appreciation for
cinematography and Akira Kurosawa had the same appreciation.
While Leone may have been inspired by Kurosawa it was Leone
who pushed the limits of the widescreen frame in terms of
composition. Kurosawa was never as extreme as Leone was,
but his films were nonetheless interesting to watch due
to the brilliant cinematography. The final showdown at the
end of the film is breathtaking all due to what is captured
within the frame. Truly impossible to describe, it must
be seen. * * *
When you talk about iconic actors you always come across
Toshiro Mifune who embodied the role of the masterless samurai
to perfection. Just the mannerisms he uses in the film are
entertaining to watch. He'll scratch his beard leisurely
in the tensest situations, or even roll his shoulders around
as he walks about. While Clint Eastwood without a doubt
created his own icon in the Leone westerns, it is without
a doubt heavily inspired by Toshiro Mifune. * * *
Sanjuro:
With the immediate success of Yojimbo in Japanese cinema
it was inevitable that a sequel was wanted by the studio.
When Akira Kurosawa was approached to do a sequel he assured
them that he didn't want to do any old sequel, and he didn't.
Sanjuro has no relation to the previous film except for
the main character. The first scene of the film finds a
group of nine samurai in a small abandoned house waiting
to be contacted and all the while discussing the state of
their clan. Of course our "hero" is sleeping in the closet
and ends up hearing their situation. Sanjuro emerges from
the closet and tells them they are about to be betrayed
and since they are blind to the world he decides to help
them weed out the evil and corrupt members of their clan.
Sanjuro is slower paced than Yojimbo, and I suppose there
are less swordfights. However, just because there are less
swordfights in the film does not mean the film has less
action. Kurosawa cranked up the intensity of the battling
and it makes the scenes all the more exciting. The film
also keeps up with the comical side that we saw in Yojimbo.
In the end it all dials down to one final samurai duel that
will leave you breathless. * * *
Kurosawa paced this film a little differently than
Yojimbo. We are almost thrown right into the action with
no detailed introductions to our characters. We already
know our main hero well, so there is no need to introduce
him again. The nine young warriors almost act as one character
so just explaining their situation was enough. Sanjuro teaches
these young warriors the way of honor and to be weary of
their surroundings. It's truly a magnificent film. By the
end of the film you will know exactly where Tarantino got
his inspiration for Kill Bill and for the style of blood
used in the film.
Image & Sound:
The highlights of these brand new sets are definitely
the new high definition transfers, absolutely flawless in
every sense of the word. The image could not get any better.
Grain and dirt are practically non existent and no signs
of any digital flaws. The image itself is not faded and
textures come through crisp and clear. I never knew black
and white could look so good. Both films are presented in
their full 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratios. *
* *
Sound is almost as perfect as the picture. We have
included the original mono track in Japanese as well as
a little bonus. Criterion knows that more and more homes
are getting bigger and badder surround systems, but mono
tracks on such a big screen may feel uninvolving for today's
audience. So, we have an optional 3.0 Dolby track that was
created to preserve the original Perspecta simulated stereo
effects. * * *
Perspecta was a technology that embedded three separate
audio tones into a mono track. It was a cheap alternative
at the time since projectors did not need a new sound head.
So the DVD is basically using 3 speakers to simulate this
early technology that was used during the films' theatrical
distribution. Bravo Criterion. Bravo. I'd also like to applaud
the effort to provide newly translated and more accurate
subtitles for both films.
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